Republicans in the House Committee on Homeland Security stressed the importance of Transportation Security Administration’s cybersecurity efforts in a letter to the agency’s leader.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, joined U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security; Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), chair of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection; and Sheri Biggs (R-SC) in sending a letter to Adam Stahl, TSA’s acting administrator stressing the importance of the agency’s cybersecurity and resilience measures. The law makers said their concerns come in the wake of increasing threats and high-profile events like the August 2024 cyberattack at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage, and the 2021 cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.
“We are concerned that the Biden administration did not take this pragmatic and balanced approach to regulation for the Transportation Systems Sector, instead imposing more requirements on entities that already face a complex cyber regulatory landscape,” the members wrote. “A rigid or overly burdensome approach could impose operational challenges, while insufficient oversight may leave critical vulnerabilities unaddressed. Striking the right balance will require continuous engagement with industry partners, regular assessments of existing directives, and the flexibility to refine policies in response to emerging threats and technological advancements.”
The law makers requested TSA provide information on its formal incident response framework for large-scale cyberattacks, and the specific measures the agency implemented in the wake of the Volt Typhoon intrusions. Additionally, the members asked for information on how the agency works with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and how TSA evaluates regulatory measures. The Congress members requested TSA respond to their requests by March 18.